Mission
The League of California Community Foundations builds and strengthens California’s communities by fostering collaboration and learning among the state’s community foundations.
Community Foundations
Community foundations are tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, nonsectarian philanthropic institutions with a long-term goal of building permanent, named component funds established by many separate donors to carry out their charitable interests and for the broad-based charitable interest of and for the benefit of residents of a defined geographic area, typically no larger than a state.
Community foundations are conveners and leaders in their communities – they help identify solutions to community issues then leverage the resources of individuals, families, and businesses to support projects and initiatives led by high-impact local nonprofits. Community foundations pursue the long-term goals of:
- BUILDING permanent, component funds established by many separate donors to carry out charitable interests;
- SUPPORTING broad-based charitable interests and benefitting the residents of a defined geographic area; and
- SERVING in leadership roles on important community issues.
History
The League of California Community Foundations began as an informal statewide partnership of community foundations in 1994 when one in five Californians lived in an area with no community foundation. The League now has more than 30 member foundations with combined philanthropic assets of more than $22 billion and its members serve 95 percent of the state’s population.
In 2018 LCCF members and their donors made over 68,000 grants totaling just over $3 billion into California’s communities. Grantees and scholarship recipients are leading groundbreaking work across the state to meet community needs in health, human services, education, youth development, environmental sustainability, economic development, arts, culture, leadership development and disaster resilience. Additionally LCCF members provide a range of philanthropic services and expertise to donors and serve as community leaders on local issues and opportunities.
As a leading organization in the California philanthropic sector, LCCF develops and implements local, state and national initiatives, including building public awareness of community foundations and advancing standards of excellence and accountability in the sector. LCCF adheres to the highest standards and operates in the public view and public interest
Members
Thirty community foundations across California are members of LCCF. In 2017, member foundations stewarded over $22 billion in charitable assets and granted $2.1 billion to community-based organizations working across a wide range of focus areas. The rapid growth of community foundation assets and the increasing numbers of donors and grants are evidence that community foundations are succeeding in their mission to make their communities better places to live, work and play.
